Hanuman Chalisa History In Text

Saturday, 10 December 2016

Lord Hanuman is well known for his extreme devotion to Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman is always depicted in the Indian folklaire as an icon of true devotion and a symbol of the power of true devotion and chastity.
Lord Hanuman's devotion to Lord Rama is symbolic of the devotion of the enlightened individual soul towards the supreme soul.
Many stories from the Indian literature tell the tales of Lord Hanuman protecting devotees of Lord Rama and helping those who seek his either spiritually or otherwise. Swami Tulasidas has written these lines in respect of Lord Hanuman's great character, in praise of his powers and also devotion.

Cleansing the mirror in the form of my mind with the pollen of the lotus-feet of the Guru, I describe the unblemished glory of Rama, which bestows the four fruits.[29][37]

Gita Press translation interprets the four fruits as the four Puruṣārthas – Dharma, Artha, Kāma, and Mokṣa.[37] Rambhadracharya comments that the four fruits refer to any of the following

The four Puruṣārthas – Dharma, Artha, Kāma, Mokṣa

The four types of Mukti – Sālokya, Sāmīpya, Sāyujya, Sārūpya

Dharma, Jñāna, Yoga, Japa

Devanagari

बुद्धिहीन तनु जानिकै सुमिरौं पवनकुमार।

बल बुधि बिद्या देहु मोहिं हरहु कलेस बिकार॥

Hunterian

buddhihīna tanu jānikai sumirau pavanakumāra।

bala budhi bidyā dehu mohi harahu kalesa bikāra॥

Knowing my body to be devoid of intelligence, I remember Hanuman, the son of Vāyu. Give me strength, intelligence and knowledge and remove all ailments (kalesa) and impurities (bikāra).[31][37][38][40]

Gita Press interprets kalesa as bodily ailments and bikāra as mental maladies.[37] Rambhadracharya comments that kalesa (Sanskrit kleśa) refers to the five afflictions (Avidyā, Asmitā, Rāga, Dveṣa, and Abhiniveśa) as described in the Yoga Sutras, and bikāra (Sanskrit vikāra) refers to the six impurities of the mind (Kāma, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada, and Mātsarya).[40] Rambhadracharya adds that these five afflictions and six impurities are the eleven enemies, and Hanuman is capable of removing them as he is the incarnation of the eleven Rudras.

Lord Hanuman is well known for his extreme devotion to Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman is always depicted in the Indian folklaire as an icon of true devotion and a symbol of the power of true devotion and chastity.
Lord Hanuman's devotion to Lord Rama is symbolic of the devotion of the enlightened individual soul towards the supreme soul.
Many stories from the Indian literature tell the tales of Lord Hanuman protecting devotees of Lord Rama and helping those who seek his either spiritually or otherwise. Swami Tulasidas has written these lines in respect of Lord Hanuman's great character, in praise of his powers and also devotion.

Hanuman Chalisa History In Text:

The work consists of forty-three verses – two introductory Dohas, forty Chaupais and one Doha in the end.[3] The first introductory Doha begins with the word shrī, which refers to Sita, who is considered the Guru of Hanuman.[29] The auspicious form, knowledge, virtues, powers and bravery of Hanuman are described in the first ten Chaupais.

[30][31][32] Chaupais eleven to twenty describe the acts of Hanuman in his service to Ram, with the eleventh to fifteenth Chaupais describing the role of Hanuman in bringing back Lakshman to consciousness.[30] From the twenty-first Chaupai, Tulsidas describes the need of Hanuman's Kripa.[33] At the end, Tulsidas hails Hanuman[34] and requests him to reside in his heart and in the heart of Vaishnavs.[35] The concluding Doha again requests Hanuman to reside in the heart, along with Ram, Lakshman and Sita.[36]

The translation below follows the English and Hindi translations by Gita Press, Rao, Mehta and Rambhadracharya.